Seems to be a hard concept for some to grasp, even a few devs (it would seem), no matter how simple the idea is.

Much of it, to me, aims to fill a need for parity (for whatever reason). Where was such talk during the PS2 era? Answer - didn't exist, because there was no way that console's specs could ever decrease the performance gap between itself and the Xbox/GameCube.

Sure, we now live in a world where patches and firmware can change a lot, but they cannot change hardware. That gap will ALWAYS be there.

Lol, "disappear". Where exactly is it going to go? I know some devs have to be neutral and appear not to be choosing a side. But some gamers aren't stupid.

As devs learn and get the most out of the X1, the same will be happening with the PS4. That will happen throughout the gen. The gap is already there and will remain. You can't just magically make weaker hardware the same as more powerful hardware, even if the more powerful hardware stayed at a standstill...which it won't be.

You can gimp games on the more powerful platform for partiality, that's not the same as the performance gap closing though.

Both consoles will improve with time, that is a given. The PS4 out of the gate is easier to maximize due to it's single pool of GDDR5. Developing on the PS4 is much easier than the Xbox One due to Microsoft using eSram. It will take longer for devs to master the more complex architecture that Microsoft chose to use. The launch titles show Microsoft has much more room for improvement. The gap may always exist, but it will get smaller over time as Xbox devs play catch up.

You guys are missing the point, where did he say XB1 will be more powerful, he said performance gap will close and he is right. Forza is the only 1080p 60 fps exclusive and it was a launch title. 1080p 60 fps will be the max this generation and it will be about who can make it look the best. MSFT is the BEST software company in the world and DX is unmatched in terms of api software. You guys will learn by June 2014 that XB1 may have the best looking and best performing games, despite being less powerful. Hardware is the only thing set in stone and as much as open gl may improve, it will never be DX.

you don't need to go to university and study computer engineering for 4 years to know that difference in power between PS4 and Xbox One will never reach a state of parity, especially due to the chasm between the two. hardware is exactly that, HARDware and can't change. software is more than capable of doing the job for Microsoft but not while the hardware gap between the two is initially this large.

I'm not sure what this dev is trying to pull here, very ODD indeed.

@truefan

let's ignore your argument that software will bring performance and graphical parity, or as you suggested maybe even superiority to the Xbox One. let's talk about Microsoft's reputation for a bit, how much do you wanna bet that Microsoft is once again exaggerating the truth and DX12 will bring minimal gains to Xbox One? you guys don't learn do you? it's almost as if you enjoy being lied to by Microsoft.

I've never cared for any of this guys games and have never bought one. And it will stay that way, cuz this guy just sounds to me like he's aiming for parity, rather than designing to each consoles strength. Unless the PS4's development environment isnt improving while the XO's is, then there's no way you can deny the technical gap. And also, often these devs say sh!t like this and then when their game comes out there are huge differences between the versions. So i'll believe it when i see it.

Also can somebody explain to me how and what "toolset" is and whats the difference with the "development environment" and SDK and API and drivers.

Optimization is key. The gap won't "disappear" per say but there will be a diminished sense of performance differences over time.

It happens with all platforms the longer they are on the market. Devs get better at understanding what works and what doesnt and they find new ways to improve the performance and reduce the overhead in doing so.

I will say this though. Architecture that is a bit more cumbersome does present an interesting challenge to those who have the desire to really understand it. If successful in achieving that understanding, great things come of it.

PS2 and PS3 are both great examples of tech that wasn't easy to program for at first but once they got the hang of it we got great end results from their labor.

What's up with stupid people and their idiotic spinning. Do people think weaker hardware can just magically get more powerful.

Ps4 is over 50% more powerful than xbox one and it'll forever be that way. Xbox one software for developing games will get more efficient and better just like Ps4s but hardware power will always be the same

I know fanat-X and fanboys think specs don't mean a thing because you can just improve software development but when you improve software development on a higher spec device it'll show improvements over a lower spec device. People should just get what they want and be satisfied no matter if what they prefer is inferior. I myself prefers quality and more power so ps4 for me. I have a pc but don't like tinkering with things when there are software conflicts preventing me from playing games or whatever

Please dont use forza as a 1080p 60fps example after the falongate. Just wait for another title... I would also take more note had it been a developer that had worked on a multiproject that was more demanding. Ask kojima, or the watchdog guys. If, by their next game, they state there's a shrinking of the gap then it would be impossible to argue against it potentially disappearing. Theres a whole lot of closing from the current state of play though.

Like pretty much everybody has stated, both will improve. We shall see if the gap will dissappear. I highly doubt judging that from specs and limited knowledge alone but whats wrong with giving some a semblance of hope to fight the fight with.

@truefan1 Resogun is a PS4 exclusive in 1080p 60fps and does more on screen all day long than Forza. Most multiplats play and look better. X1 has no "good looking" games in full hd 1080p, PS4 has plenty. PS4 has basically the same CPU but MUCH stronger GPU with more features and better pool of RAM.

Can we just face it that the PS4 is going to have the advantage? I faced it last gen that the 360 had the faster gpu with better shaders, I wasn't in denial (and it was even less significant difference wise last gen)... This is just getting ridiculous. I don't know if companies just want to stick up for Microsoft out of loyalty or what, but nobody let the PS3 off the hook last gen because of it's gpu, and being hard to program for.

@truefan. No one is saying that he said the X1 will be more powerful. You are making some mighty big assumptions with comment based on literally nothing at all. You seem to put all your hopes into software, but everyone knows that software can only do so much. Having more powerful hardware is the biggest advantage and the PS4 has that. As I, and many others have said already, both consoles will improve with time, but expecting the gap between each consoles to magically close is unrealistic. Also, using Forza of an example of 1080p 60fps is laughable, the visual sacrifices that game had to make in order to achieve that we're pretty significant. Sorry for the lack of paragraphs, I'm on my phone :p

it's now official guys! for you pc only gamers out there, this is good news! you don't have to buy new GPU every 2 to 3 years as your old and weaker card will perform just as good as the newer and better cards if you give it some times!

@ Hatsune-Miko, dude your X1 specs are totally wrong lol, the system is pushing 1.34TFLOPS for a start XD Look up Xbox One specs and stop mis informing people, Yes the PS4 is more powerful, but not like you have it listed.

Software and tools are important. Xb1 virtual (3os system) takes up precious resources but allows for snaping apps could a software update improve performance maybe. Esram will be a bottleneck if not supported correctly, could tools improve and maybe even automate the buffering into the esram also maybe.

Since the OS is virtual I do not know if it is possible (would be nice though) for the x1 to incorporate esram and its ddr3 ram into a virtual memory pool accessible at the same time by gpu and cpu (hsa concept). Having good software and tools simply does and can result in better performance of hardware especially if you overcomplicate things with 3os systems and esram.

Like I said before I'm surprised folks care what the PS4 fan armchair developers and engineers say on this topic.

Funny how some elite 3rd party devs and 1st party MSFT devs must be looking at Directx 12 kits or trying to reserve them for XB1, when PS4 fans said collectively it was impossible for XB1 and you would need new hardware just days ago, days before GDC.(talking VIP devs, not the public or small time devs having access in 2015)

Things like this are what devs are seeing when they say things like that. There maybe some things each console will do the other can't in the future. The performance differences we see today has nothing to do with these launch games showing that PS4 is more cable. The xbox One issues are caused by dev kits/tools being slapped together and worked on as devs were building the fist or even 2nd wave of games.

Clearly based on the unfinished system software, lack of features compared to the 360 and the lower performing multi plats you can see that the Xb1 was suppose to release in 2015 and has placeholder system software in it.

I always get a kick out of some of the posters here on N4G that refuse to take a developers word when it doesn't paint Sony's console in a higher light when compared to others.

There is nothing to suggest that Xbox One can't do 1080p or 60fps. And we have already heard and it is a fact that the reason for early multiplat games not being the same is directly because of Xbox One's architecture.

Just because one hardware has GDDR5 doesn't mean it will be running laps around Xbox One. We have already seen some games for PS4 having to cut corners just to achieve a certain framerate or graphic fidelity despite a lot on here who always yell the ps4 has more power.

You guys don't seem to understand that you can achieve more with less. It's all about the right tools, the right tools make all the difference in the world.

And why this developer is lying after what MS put them through should only further prove that the gap will close.

It makes sense if you really think about it. If an X1 game runs at 900p/60FPS and that same game runs on PS4 at 1080p/60FPS he's saying that eventually both games would be running at 1080p/60/FPS. Unless developers then start outputting PS4 games at 1120p/90 FPS which isn't going to happen.. the gap basically closes. PS4 will always be the more powerful console, you just may not see the difference in multi-plat games in the near future like you do now.

I guess this is good news for me then, according to what some people on here say. My 9800 gtx in my pc wont need to be upgraded anymore, I can just wait for better tools to come out for developers and overclock my CPU a tiny bit... Money saved! Thank you guys.

" MSFT is the BEST software company in the world and DX is unmatched in terms of api software."

OMG, did you type that with a straight face? No dev alive believes DX is unmatched, it doesn't allow you to code close enough to the metal, it is viewed as frustrating for that reason. They are trying to address that with DX12, but only because DX was lagging way behind and they had to do something.

While Microsoft may be the 'biggest' software company in the world, they are FAR FROM THE BEST. Don't believe the self-promotional hype, your comments come from someone who obviously isn't forced to use their buggy, unstable, legacy-ridden crap for a living.

Leave it up to armchair journalists at an unknown Xbox fansite to put words in Lorne's mouth when discussing the 2 next gen consoles. He never once said the difference would disappear. If you're going to quote the guy, at least get it right rather than distorting his words just to make a flame-bait headline.

"Getting comparable" "shaving down the difference" etc. does not equal parity, as the headline implies.

All it means is that the tools are getting better to enable better performance on one machine, however the same can be said of both machines since both have tools and drivers that are being upgraded constantly. PS4 isn't sitting still while Xbox One plays catch-up, both consoles are maturing from a development perspective.

For a man who had a company run into the ground by MS, almost completely destroying everything he worked for and then continued to get crapped on for 2 gens on the Xbox, he is still an optimistic and nice guy. Is New and Tasty even coming to the Xbone?

Lucas, I must ask you this seeing that you seem to know where the next level up in terms of graphics are going to be. Suppose the Xbox One do catch up to the PS4 in achieving 1080p 60fps in the future, you seem to think that by then the PS4 will be on a different level than that. Are we going to see 2160p 120fps? Mind you I am not a resolution expert or anything that is why I'm asking.

We must tank our supreme N4G engineer Mr. XHeavYx for his enlightening analysis. Luckily we have him here, be cause those lazy developers who make the games are a bunch of liars who have no idea what these things are capable of. Thanks . Again HeavY for your unbiased analysiss /s

Too late already ...but since nobody seems to read the article allow me to quote the "important" section:

Oddworld Inhabitants is currently working on a from-the-ground-up remake of Oddworld: New ’n Tasty for PlayStation 4. Lanning is also in talks to bring the game to Xbox One, as part of the [email protected] program. Should he be successful, Lanning doesn't believe there will be any noticeable differences in performance between the different console versions.

“For us, we aren’t taxing it that heavy, like I say it’s not Battlefield,” he said. “For us, we don’t really see that we’ll have performance problems on either and we’ll be able to get what we want, with very dynamic looking lighting, particle effects, etc.”

Well I bought my xbox 1 for playing awesome games on and it's already delivered. I don't buy a console just so I can come on n4g and beat my chest in a spec war , because a) I'm not a developer or have a computer engineering degree b) think I know more then an actual game developer like this oddworld guy c) have better things to do

You can't increase the hardware, the gap is never going to close cause the hardware will always be better... the gap is only going to get wider because... because... well its just going to get wider cause we said so.

the irony, can't close a gap because hardware is static but the gap can get bigger because the hardware is static. I think its fair to say that Xbox development has been a little tougher so far because of the custom architecture, but as developers learn it you will see more improvement from the early titles to later titles. Ps4 will improve also but their hardware is more straight forward, so developers are already tapping more potential, so you won't see the improvement as much. The gap is going to close, I'm sure not fully but I think well see multiplatforms performing almost identically as last generation, and exclusives will look fantastic on both

Exactly. Every Argument saying the gap will close is already false. The ps4 is stronger with direct ports. Optimization with the esram is known to not make up for the difference no matter how hard they try. We know devas don't try to achieve parity because they never have tried. Last gen, games looked better on one console or the othe other almost every time.

look to the beginning of the 360, that chunky ugly white box, it didn't even have hdmi, it had that awful blade system, and the specs were well behind that of the ps3, slower ram etc.

if the 360 remained the same console from day one there would have been now way it could compete with ps3, but as history has shown us these consoles evolve a huge amount.

even with all its issues like RRoD and hardware that was well behind in terms of specs, the 360 kicked some major ass, to go in to this generation purely based on "on paper" performance gaps, is really quite blind.

what you get on launch day is most certainly not the same console you will be playing a few years from now.

"you don't need to go to university and study computer engineering for 4 years to know that difference in power between PS4 and Xbox One will never reach a state of parity, especially due to the chasm between the two. hardware is exactly that, HARDware and can't change. software is more than capable of doing the job for Microsoft but not while the hardware gap between the two is initially this large.

I'm not sure what this dev is trying to pull here, very ODD indeed."

You need experience on development before telling everyone that something is more powerful, it's a bit like telling someone about how to decorate without actually done it yourself.

You keep on saying hardware, hardware that, haven't you realized yet, that hardware isn't the be all and all anymore?

You can have the most powerful servers in the world, but it's software which powers it, it's software which decides how much CPU, RAM, or even Graphics you utilize at any given time, hell even routers, switches utilize software now.

All industry powered hardware is software driven, you even have multi-core CPU's inside of routers/switches etc.

Why? because software decides what kind of performance you will get out of the hardware, look at the Xbox 360 and PS3 first few years they had lower than 720p resolution, many years after many 720p games started cropping up. This happened because of optimization of...you guessed it software.

"let's ignore your argument that software will bring performance and graphical parity, or as you suggested maybe even superiority to the Xbox One. let's talk about Microsoft's reputation for a bit, how much do you wanna bet that Microsoft is once again exaggerating the truth and DX12 will bring minimal gains to Xbox One? you guys don't learn do you? it's almost as if you enjoy being lied to by Microsoft."

I think you have this weird notion that the Xbox One and PS4 are more powerful than they actually are, they are both using mobile based CPU's, they are using old GPU's, they aren't all that powerful. They are more powerful than the prior gen, and you will see amazing looking games that's for sure, but there won't be as big as gap between both consoles.

They are using pretty much the same hardware, and like I said software is what drives hardware now not hardware.

Both consoles will get 1080p 60FPS, and with some differences, no big deal.

P.S just so you know, Sony lie as well, it's company you may want to stop sucking up all the company PR, and just get wit playing games.

Numbers, which I bet the majority of which don't really know what they actually mean.

Here's the thing which people who aren't software devs fail to comprehend, hardware isn't based on numbers not since multi-core CPU's came about, why? because you can have a dual core CPU running at 1.8Ghz, processing data slower than a 1.8 64Bit processor.

Hardware isn't as important as it once was, firmware, O.S, optimizations etc can be tweaked altered.

Although the hardware will never change, SOFTWARE is where things can and do change, DX12 will give developers better utilization of hardware, and MS will optimize the OS, alter the firmware etc, it will allow devs to utilize the Xbox One's hardware effectively.

People who preach about hardware all the time, need to actually develop games because are no longer about how powerful something supposedly is, you can find bottle necks, you can find problems in the OS etc which can all impede your software in some way.

The reality is about both consoles, is they aren't that much different from each other, one is using a software solution to things, the other is using a hardware solution.

You would think with all the recent bad Sony news, their blindly loyal fans would stop talking shit. You idiots need to worry about if Sony is actually making any game at all... instead of the Xbox One catching up to it in power. This is why you people get no sympathy from xbox fans for bad Sony news, you try to trash the xbox at every turn. you refuse to believe that the xbox can match the PS4 in power, so if a dev claims that there will be no difference in the future you immediately claim they just want parity. That's as brain washed as brain wash can get. lets say that games are identical on both consoles in a year do you fools think the devs that where making better PS4 games since launch will just stop because of parity?

Just so I am keeping up on this site. -Resolution doesn't matter -hardware isn't as important as it once was -cloud power is better to have -Microsoft is the best software company -direct x is the best API -Sony fans are mean and they lie

Yup here we go again. The Xbox One is going to magically produce the obvious hardware disparity. For the millionth time, it's not a software issue, the hardware is simply like for like underpowered. It's an apples to apples comparison. A Radeon 7850 is faster than a Radeon 7790. It's 100% fact.

Software powers hardware, and without a perfect balance of the two you end up with reduced performance. In NO CASE WHATSOEVER will software upgrades cause hardware parity, unless the software for the other system sucks and does not ever improve, which is not the case.

People claim that software advances are causing X1 to catch up to PS4, ignoring the fact that PS4 is also advancing its software along the way too. In 4 years you'll see devs pushing PS4 in ways that nobody right now would ever dream to be possible. Nobody thought you'd see PS2 using normal maps, or PS3 using tessellation, but it happened due to software upgrades. They come to ALL systems, so to claim that a software upgrade will enable one system to catch up to the other is to assume that the other system won't be getting any upgrades along the way as well, which is false.

I love this nonsense of the X1 GPU being "heavily customized", well guess what, so is the PS4's and all customized means here, is weakened, it has half the ROPs, 50% less CUs, teraflops and texture units, more the 50% less shaders, GPixels and GTexels and ACEs.

Also the bandwidth on the PS4 is at least 40-50% better/higher in real life and the proof is in the games, which already show anywhere from 125% to 44% improvements in resolution and usually higher framerates

Also PS4 has True Audio which is dedicated HW, so there goes your so-called audio advantage. And the PS4's CPU performs better than the X1's so there goes their faster clock. DirectX12 isnt going to do much for X1 when its just using X1's low level API anyway, so where's the advantage? And Sony's API will also continue to improve too. But you fanboys keep hoping and falling for the hype and bullsh*t. But i guess i would too if i was desperate.

And to maniac, its not just the faster RAM, its also the faster GPU and better development tools. And the games say "hi", you know all the games that were 1080 on the PS4 but only 720 on the X1, what did they just should not to do it? Face reality guy.

And the X1 GPU only does 1.31TF total, 10% of which is reseverd for Kinect bringing that down to 1.18TF and if they give back the 8% they claimed then it'll be 1.28TF, compared to 1.843TF.

Yes and no. There is an general consensus of what is in these boxes based on teardowns and tech sheets its possible to determine performance of these boxes in theory, however real world performance might not approximate the theoretical max performances. Hardware wise by now it should be pretty easy to see that ps4 has the hardware advantage.

With the custom software devs are able to pull out more and will be able to use some hardware specific tricks,for example using certain gpu calculations.

I'm not really trying to be an argumentative fanboy but I have to disagree. The spec sheets don't mean a thing.

This is custom architecture through and through. There is no gaming rig with 8gbs of gddr5 by itself, there is pretty much nothing with esramn it. These GPUs are deriviants from a line of gaming cards but they are not PC gaming cards.

The whole APU thing in general is new, you haven't seen a game engine written for these new consoles and you don't know how the internals work.

Simple logic will tell you these consoles have not been pushed. I mean wouldn't that mean the Xbox one has a gig of gddr5 too since you think its a straight forward gpu?

For me the main reason I bought the xb1 first is simply the fact I prefer MS exclusives, the graphical disparity's are minimal so I really don't mind aslong as I get to play KI, Forza, Ryse, Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive, Max the curse of brotherhood, Titanfall, Dead Rising, Zoo Tycoon, Halo, Gears of War, D4, Project Spark, Fable, Below, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare etc I'm very happy with my decision, Sony has literally one game I am interested in and that's it! (The Order) much more fun for me to have the xb1 for the time being.

Lol you love "a" Insomniac Games game enough to put it on your list, a game that has no information but a CGI trailer and so that is a reason you got a Microsoft Xbox One console? Hey why stop there, you left games like Lococycle off that list. I think this is the very reason to never ever pick up an Xbox console mate and they WILL do it again http://i.imgur.com/LknAc0R.... NEVER FORGET.

But hey, just like with 360 like you said, as long as the endless cycle of "Microsoft Exclusives" continue i.e Forza, Gears, Fable and Halo for the next 7 years, why wouldn't you pick an Xbone up. Just next time please don't list all the other games that you haven't and have no intention of ever purchasing given your taste.

haha you are interested in zoo tycoon and sunset overdrive, project spark and others but you have zero interest in uncharted, driveclub, project cars vr, little big planet, rhime, rapture, or many others that sony does as well or better.... LOL... yes that makes total sense. this is where fanboys get a bad name, this post right here. you love all sorts of games, but only the "sorts" of games MS makes, how interesting please tell me more /s

@andrewsqual and @joecanada... you two are joking me right? He's listing games he interested in just like everyone else does on this site... it's called preference. You want to act like people here don't list Sony exclusives that might or might not be real or just CGI trailers that they are "interested" in. People here are extremely interested in Uncharted 4 yet we've seen nothing on it.

Wow, what a coincidence - you love every single existing and upcoming xbone game! Are you sure you didn't forget Powerstar Golf? I bet you were a big Insomniac fan when they developped exclusively for PS3 as well. ;-) Is your name an allusion to you commiting suicide... should I be worried?

You've exposed yourself as a Microsoft fanboy when you listed gears of war as an anticipated title. No one who isn't a rabid fanboy would still be excited for the gears franchise after rifles of war 3 and "4 map" judgment.